Reunion
by ringanybells
Summary: Set immediately after the PowWow in DeWitt's office in The Attic. Paul's awake from his coma and Echo is back from the Attic. And they are together, even if only for a little while. E/P


They filed out of Adelle's office slowly. Boyd leading Priya and Tony downstairs, to fill them in on things that Echo had already figured out. Topher left to return to his office, he needed to prep for introducing Echo to Caroline, Ivy followed. Adele looked from Echo to Paul and, for once, decided that she too should leave. They'd been brought in separately and they hadn't had a chance to speak yet. The mission had been more important than their long overdue reunion.

They stood awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other. Paul was still slightly unsure in his own skin, not quite sure who he was after his little sojourn in the chair. Echo hurt all over, her stay in the Attic had been more draining than any previous engagement. Plus, she remembered quite well his stance on touching from their months together in Texas. But then it all got to be too much. She remembered sitting in the Imprint room, crying, rocking his still form. She remembered standing in the infirmary, listening to the sound of the ventilator and the EKG machine. She remembered crying herself to sleep every night since Alpha's visit. She moved forward, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him close.

She took a deep breath, trying to memorize his scent, sure that he would push her away at any second. But he didn't. His arms went around her back and she could feel them tighten as he clutched her body to him. Their embrace lasted for moments that felt like eternity, but were over all too soon. Echo was the one to pull back. She needed to look at him. She studied his face, locking his gaze. She trusted this man with her life, more than anyone else, even more than Boyd. He moved one hand from her waist and brought it to her cheek, his thumb gently wiping a tear away. "Ssh, Echo, you're all right. There's no need to cry."

She could have laughed at his silly reassurance. She had survived her worst nightmare and had her worst fear realized. She had awoken from one and had the other undone. The Attic was nothing more than a distant memory, floating around in a sea of the same; and Paul was once again standing in front of her. She couldn't have kept the tears of relief in any longer if she'd tried. "I am all right, now that you're here." So programmed were the words that they just slipped out. She spoke quickly to erase her Doll-like sentiment. "I thought I'd lost you."

Paul looked away, he remembered what Alpha had been ranting about. He'd been so sure that Echo was in love with him. He'd fought hard to deny it, not because he didn't want it, but because he loved her too. Somewhere amid the engagements, he'd fallen in love with Echo. It wasn't like with Mellie, he didn't love one of her imprints. He loved her, Echo, the doll; the doll who had proven herself to be so much more. But he knew that one day, they would bring down Rossum, and on that day, Echo would go away, and Caroline would come home. Keeping distance between them was the safest way to ensure there were no unnecessary complications. But he was tired of denying himself. He was in deeper than ever now. He met her eyes again, "Hey, I thought the same thing. When Boyd told me they'd sent you to the Attic, I thought my heart was going to stop beating right then and there. But here you are. We're together again, okay?"

She basked in his words for a moment. She had missed his voice. And the feel of his hands, still touching her, reminded her that she was in fact awake, with him. But things were about to get so much worse. She was worried they'd never have a moment like this again. "It's not okay, Paul. We were gone, we died, both of us. Me a little bit more than you, but still. Next time it won't be the kind you wake up from, next time it could be for real. I don't want to lose you again without telling you how I feel. I don't want to die with regrets."

He moved his other hand to her face, pulling her close. He placed a single kiss to her forehead and then pulled back to meet her eyes. If it had just been him, he could have swallowed the feelings. But seeing the depth of emotion in her eyes broke his last bit of restraint. "Listen to me, don't you think for one second I don't know. I've known all along how you feel about me. You weren't exactly subtle in Texas." He watched her eyes change from certain to questioning. He continued before she could interrupt. "And I feel the same way. I love you, Echo; not Caroline, not one of your Imprints, you. I know you think that I don't understand the difference or that I still see you as a Doll, but I don't."

Echo looked in his eyes, able to read the truth. "Then why? Why did you stop me in Texas? Why wouldn't you give us a chance?"

A small chuckle escaped him. For someone who was clearly brilliant, for several someones who claimed to have a wealth of knowledge, it was refreshing how blind she could be. "Because of what you were asking me to do," Off of her confused look, he continued. "You wanted me to help you; to stand by and watch you walk into dangerous situations; to help you train, to hurt you. And then you wanted me to bring you back here. To stand by your side as you entered the fire. A place that has beat you, whored you out. They locked you in a room for days, just to see us squirm. If I'd given us a chance, I couldn't have sat by watching you in pain." He moved his hand under her chin, to keep her gaze on him, "And I certainly couldn't have watched you be in love with another man."

The revelation almost knocked Echo off her feet. It had never really occurred to her what she was asking of Paul. Sure, the experience was physically painful and emotionally draining for her, but it had never dawned on her how hard it would be for him. She felt like an idiot, throwing herself at him, torturing him in more ways than strictly necessary. She pulled back, ashamed with herself. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I didn't think…I'm sorry."

The sudden absence of her body from next to his had him moving forward to catch her again. When he did, he wrapped both hands around her upper arms, keeping her close. "Don't apologize. I'm glad you called. I wanted to be at your side. Not being there would have been a torture much worse. I did the whole 'watch from a far' thing, remember? For months, I followed a trail of breadcrumbs hoping to find you."

Echo couldn't help the slight bitterness that colored her voice, but she did not break his hold, "Hoping to find Caroline, you mean."

Paul chastised himself silently. In the beginning, it had been all about Caroline, the saucy co-ed from the video. But now, he didn't care one tenth as much for her as he did for the woman standing in front of him. "Yes, to find Caroline. But I found you instead. And you, Echo, are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You're the reason I stayed here, because you asked me too. If this was about Caroline, I could have bought her freedom ages ago with my silence. But after Alpha downloaded you, you walked up to me and told me you trusted me. You apologized for hurting me inside the Dollhouse. And you asked me to stay with you, told me that you were going to need a friend. You said that you had things to do but that you'd never make it if I wasn't there to watch your back. That's why I signed up. That's why I've stayed. I've watched you go on engagement after engagement; I've watched you in pain. And I've done it all because you asked; I'm here for you, Echo."

Echo could see the truth in his eyes, "Paul, I never expected…I didn't mean…" She couldn't find the words to apologize to him. She'd never planned for any of this, not to become Echo, not to remain cognizant of all her imprints, not to meet Paul, and certainly not to fall for him. Things were all so screwed up and she didn't know how to fix them.

Again, his hand moved to her cheek. Now that he had broken the boundaries, it seemed stupid to waste a single moment. "Hey, I know. You've had a lot on your mind, well minds." He smiled when she did. "I don't regret a single minute of it, nothing since the moment your picture first crossed my desk. Not the gunshot wound, the beatings, losing my badge, the coma, or my loss of smell. I'd go through it all again if it got me to you. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Things are going to change now. You know that, right?" She felt it only fair to warn him this time.

"You mean because of Caroline, because she's coming back?" Again Echo nodded. This time, Paul returned the nod. "If you're sure we need her, then let her come back. She isn't going to change how I feel about you." And with that, he leaned forward and kissed her, the way he'd been longing to for months. The way he'd stopped her from doing in Texas.

When he finally pulled away, she took a moment to compose herself. Then she returned to reality. "What about after, what happens then?"

Paul considered it for a minute, but no longer. "All I know is that for too long, I did nothing. I've been given a second chance, and I'm not going to waste a minute of it. Whatever comes next, we'll deal with it. For now, I'm happy just being able to hold you." And he was. The pain would be bad later, when he had to say goodbye, but that was later. And with the way his luck was going, he might not survive to say it.

Echo kissed him again, "Me too. Whatever else happens, I love you. I know it's sad compensation for all I've put you through, but it's all I got." She looked up and met his gaze again.

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her once more. "Trust me, it's more than enough."

Adele was waiting to reclaim her office. Topher had Caroline's print prepped and ready. And Boyd wanted Paul to go over strategies. There were a million things that needed to be done in preparation of the coming battle. But Paul and Echo ignored it all. They stood in the office of their former enemy and held each other, making up for lost time and trying to grab hold of something to keep them going through what was to come.

[A/N: I know it's unlikely that all Paul had to give up was his sense of smell to return to the land of the living. But I refuse to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary (we all know Joss has a tendency to place large, hard to move obstacles (curses, evilness, transmogrification, ascension, curses, etc.) smack dab in the middle of his relationships), that they took Paul's ability to love or anything of the sort. Nope. I choose to live in my little world of delusion (i.e. where Paul and Echo are actually able to be together), until such time as Joss and co. pull me from my delusions (which I'm pretty sure will be happening come January). Anyway, feel free to dwell in my world with me, who knows, there might even be a few more stories to keep the illusion going. And all of you should sign the petition to bring the House back. I guess Fox wants a repeat performance. We've done it before, we can do it again. Signed, a true Whedonite, Slayerette, Browncoat, and Doll-enthusiast. Vive le Joss.]


End file.
